Career profile Fine Artist

Table of Contents

• What does a Fine Artist do?
• What is a typical salary for a Fine Artist?
• What personality traits are common among Fine Artists?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Fine Artists need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Fine Artist do?

Fine Artists create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.

What kind of tasks does a Fine Artist perform regularly?

Fine Artists are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Use materials such as pens and ink, watercolors, charcoal, oil, or computer software to create artwork.
• Integrate and develop visual elements, such as line, space, mass, color, and perspective, to produce desired effects, such as the illustration of ideas, emotions, or moods.
• Confer with clients, editors, writers, art directors, and other interested parties regarding the nature and content of artwork to be produced.
• Maintain portfolios of artistic work to demonstrate styles, interests, and abilities.
• Market artwork through brochures, mailings, or Web sites.
• Study different techniques to learn how to apply them to artistic endeavors.
• Monitor events, trends, and other circumstances, research specific subject areas, attend art exhibitions, and read art publications to develop ideas and keep current on art world activities.
• Photograph objects, places, or scenes for reference material.

The above responsibilities are specific to Fine Artists. More generally, Fine Artists are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Fine Artist salary?

What personality traits are common among Fine Artists?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Fine Artist are usually higher in their Artistic and Realistic interests.

Fine Artists typically have very strong Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Also, Fine Artists typically have strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Fine Artist tend to value Achievement, Independence, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Fine Artists strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Second, Fine Artists strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Fine Artists moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Fine Artists must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and integrity.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Fine Artists, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Fine Artists need?

Fine Artists often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Fine Artists usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Fine Artists

• 2.7% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 11.6% completed high school or secondary school
• 18.9% completed some college coursework
• 8.2% earned a Associate's degree
• 43.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 13.4% earned a Master's degree
• 1.6% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Fine Artists

Important Abilities needed by Fine Artists

Fine Artists must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Fine Artists need abilities such as originality, fluency of ideas, and visualization in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Fine Artists, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Fine Artists

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Fine Artists frequently use skills like critical thinking, active learning, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Fine Artists, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.